ACEN extends P30 million to wind subsidiary

MANILA, Philippines — Ayala-led ACEN Corp. is extending a P30-million loan to its subsidiary responsible for the construction of a large-scale wind farm in Ilocos Norte.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, the listed energy platform of the Ayala Group said it signed a short-term loan agreement with Pagudpud Wind Power Corp. (PWPC) a day earlier.

“The advances to be made to ACEN are part of the ACEN Group’s cash management optimization,” the energy firm said.

ACEN, through PWPC, is currently developing the 160-megawatt (MW) Pagudpud Wind project, which secured long-term market access through the government’s green energy auction program in 2022.

The project consists of 32 wind turbine generators — each capable of producing five MW of clean energy — enough to power over 123,000 homes and reduce about 340,000 metric tons of carbon emissions annually.

ACEN completed the first phase of the project in 2023, with the second phase targeted to be finished no later than December this year.

The P11.8-billion wind farm is ACEN’s third wind development in Ilocos Norte, joining the 52-MW North Wind Power project in neighboring Bangui town and the 81-MW North Luzon Renewables also in Pagudpud.

Tycoon Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, chairman of conglomerate Ayala Corp., earlier said the Pagudpud Wind Farm could help meet the increasing power demand in the Luzon grid.

“This facility is part and parcel of ACEN and Ayala’s commitment to help build a modern and sustainable Philippine economy through the best technologies that the world has to offer,” he said.

For 2025, ACEN has programmed P70 billion in capital spending to fuel its growth and further strengthen its renewable energy portfolio.

Currently, the company has a global generation portfolio of 6.8 gigawatts, consisting of fully operational assets, projects under construction and committed projects.